This pig, and the next ones, lived in gestation crates at Smithfield Foods' subsidiary Murphy-Brown. The HSUS

Pigs are so tightly confined that they can't even turn around, and they can suffer from serious depression. The HSUS

Pigs in gestation crates may chew the bars of their cages or show other signs of stress. The HSUS

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission received a legal
complaint today from The Humane Society of the United States alleging that
Smithfield Foods — a McDonald’s pork supplier and recipient of McDonald’s
“supplier sustainability” award — is making false and misleading claims to shareholders
and consumers about its corporate responsibility practices. The complaint comes
at a time when McDonald’s is heavily promoting the reintroduction of its McRib pork
sandwich, and just 24 hours after Smithfield’s launch of its new corporate
responsibility website.

According to The HSUS’ complaint filed today, the claims — made
in a video series titled Taking the
Mystery out of Pork Production — falsely convey to viewers that Smithfield
has higher animal welfare and environmental standards than it actually does.
Smithfield and its subsidiary Murphy Brown continue to confine breeding sows in
gestation crates, which are so restrictive they prevent these animals from even
turning around.

Federal securities law prohibits the making of any false
statement of a material fact or the omission of a material fact that would
prevent a statement from being misleading.

“McDonald's has publicly recognized that these crates are
not good for animals, but it still buys pork from pigs bred using this cruel
system,” stated Paul Shapiro, senior director of farm animal protection at The
HSUS. “It’s time for McDonald’s to get gestation crates out of its supply chain.”

Smithfield’s Video

In its videos, Smithfield claims, for example, that it
provides animals with “ideal” living conditions and that their animals’ “every
need is met,” despite the fact that the vast majority of its breeding sows are confined
in gestation crates — metal cages that virtually immobilize animals for nearly
their entire lives. Smithfield also routinely castrates animals and cuts
portions of their tails off without painkillers.

The videos, which were released just months after an HSUS
undercover investigation documented severe cruelty inside a Smithfield
facility in Virginia, also include false and misleading claims about an environmental
certification from the International
Organization of Standards and misleading claims of “organic” agriculture.

McDonald’s and Smithfield’s own animal welfare
advisor, Dr. Temple Grandin, has stated that gestation crates “are a real
problem” and “have to go.”

In a company video, McDonald’s states that
moving sows “from gestation stalls to group housing” is “best for the welfare
and well-being of those sows.”

In 2007, Smithfield pledged to end its use of
gestation crates at company-owned facilities by 2017. In 2009, Smithfield
removed that timeline and has yet to publicly set a new one.

A
2001 Washington Post article noted: “Some members of
[McDonald’s animal welfare] panel identified gestation crates as a particularly
inhumane practice...” In the article, a McDonald’s executive refers to the
issue as being “towards the top of our agenda.” However, a decade later,
McDonald’s still purchases from pork producers that use these cruel crates.

Eight states and the European Union have passed
laws to phase out gestation crates. Extensive
scientific research confirms that confining sows in gestation crates is
detrimental to animal welfare.